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REVIEW: Th' Faith Healers, Lido (Too Pure/Elektra)
Th' Faith Healers' _Lido_ is one of the more interesting albums I've bought in a while. What we have here is something fair rare of late: a British band that knows how to rock (nyaah!). I bought it used and wasn't really expecting too terribly much, since the buzz the band was getting lead me to expect something along the lines of a MBV worshipping band. What I got instead is a quite interesting album. The rhythm section is in fine form on this album, especially the drummer, who lays down some good solid patterns that are not typical rock fare. The rhythms are solid enough that the guitar is freed from carrying much of the rhythm, and can sort of do its own thing. There are a wide variety of effects used on the guitar, often several in the same song, resulting in some pretty interesting songs. Add this to solid songwriting, and you've got a winner. I was most pleasantly surprised by this one.
REVIEW: Th' Faith Healers, L' (Too Pure/Elektra)
More cool stuff from Too Pure. th faith healers crank out a hail of fuzztone guitar, high-speed rhythms, semi-buried male/female harmonies ... the best musical adrenaline rush I've heard in a while. Imagine "You Made Me Realise" or "Feed Me With Your Kiss" played twice as fast. The slower songs have some echoes of early Pixies in the way a scratchy little semi-acoustic guitar part (with heavy bassline) will suddenly explode into your face without warning. And a nice use of vocal distortion (viz "Broken Face") on a couple of tracks. But that said, let me qualify it: it's not that they're setting out to sound like those bands; rather, they've internalized or digested them, as the landscape they're building their own style on top of. The musicianship isn't tremendous, the lyrics are pretty simple (usually a few lines repeated over and over, like "wanna singa / wanna singa / bout the moona inna juna" or "let's do it / bye bye / this time you die / if not quite soon / maybe by this afternoon"), but it's terrific stuff. If you're looking for something to really get you going in the morning you couldn't ask for more. (Worth noting: they cover Can's "Mother Sky", which must be where Too Pure got its name from: "I think madness is too pure / like mother sky". I haven't heard the original, but the cover fits in so well with the rest of the album that I didn't realize it _was_ a cover 'til I looked at the composition credits.)
REVIEW: Th' Faith Healers, L' (Too Pure/Elektra)
Th' Faith Healers' outstanding full-length debut is a wonderfully visceral experience; while often lumped in with the concurrent shoegazer movement, the group's sound is far darker and grittier, their guitars churning instead of shimmering and their attitude menacing instead of blissful. Songs often spring from simple, hypnotic riffs and rhythms which inevitably swerve out of control, screeching with peals of feedback and shooting off sparks -- "Hippy Hole" is a white-noise rollercoaster, while the taut "Don't Jones Me" slowly builds from a loping drum beat and a muted guitar line to arrive at a crashing climax. To top it off, Lido even sports a taut cover of Can's "Mother Sky" -- great stuff.
REVIEW: Th' Faith Healers, L' (Too Pure/Elektra)
On their debut long-player LIDO, Th' Faith Healers combine a healthy interest in such Krautrock legends as Faust and Can with post-punk, alternative rock grooves. Each of the album's tracks move through wildly differing experimental phases while anchored to down and dirty grooves. This method allows the band to keep a firm grasp on the listener's ears while hauling them into heretofore-unseen realms of sonic exploration. Collectors should note that the US version of the CD features two tracks--the brilliant "Reptile Smile" and "Moona Inna Joona"--from the band's MR. LITNANSKI EP.
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